Clean and tidy sites have often been associated with positive safety cultures in construction.
Poor housekeeping can result in the creation of additional hazards and dangers, in the form
of protruding objects, which may also be sharp, and may result in situations that can lead to
slips, trips, and falls on-site. They also create uneven ground levels, debris, and muddy
conditions, which can all lead to an increase in accidents. Housekeeping also contributes to
projects being finished in a timely manner, due to fewer distractions being created by what
would otherwise be a chaotic situation. However, maintaining good housekeeping practices
on-site has been known to be challenging, due to the rapid and complex nature of
construction projects. In research that was conducted to explore the question “Why is
housekeeping a continuing challenge in Lesotho construction?”, the final outcome of site
visits and observations revealed the classic phenomenon of the Hawthorne effect. Without
deliberate or intentional “interventionary” measures or demands for regulatory adherence,
subsequent visits revealed a transformation in site practices, specifically in housekeeping.
The Hawthorne effect refers to a change in behaviour by the subjects of a study due to their
awareness of being observed. This effect does not necessarily refer to positive or negative
outcomes. In this paper, the transformation that occurred with regard to workers’ practices
is discussed critically in the context of this phenomenon. A key outcome of this discussion
is whether housekeeping can be encouraged or improved using the notion of awareness of
being observed. Finally, the ethicality of carrying out overt or covert observations is
deliberated.